KARACHI – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday acquitted Shahrukh Jatoi in the Shahzeb Khan murder case.
A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Ijazul Ahsan, also acquitted the co-accused in the case.
During the hearing, Shahrukh’s counsel Latif Khosa apprised the court that both parties had reached an agreement.
Khosa maintained that his client had no intention of spreading terror, saying the murder was presented as a case of terrorism.
In the year 2012, Shahzeb Khan, the 20-year-old son of the former deputy superintendent of police was murdered in an upscale locality of the port city. The boy was gunned down while returning home from a wedding with his family when an employee of the accused verbally harassed his sister.
Shahzeb then confronted one of Shahrukh’s accomplices and demanded an apology. Later, the deceased left his house in his car and was shot dead in public.
The event sparked outrage across Pakistan and former top judge, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, took suo motu notice of the incident.
Around a year after the murder, an anti-terrorism court (ATC) awarded the death penalty to Shahrukh and Siraj Talpur, while Sajjad Talpur and Ghulam Murtaza Lashari were given life imprisonment.
The prime accused was also handed down an additional three years in prison.
Later, Shahzeb’s parents issued a formal pardon for the convicts, approved by the Sindh High Court (SHC). Despite the initial pardon, the death penalty had been in wake of the addition of terrorism charges, until the SHC dropped the charges and ordered a retrial in the case.
More to follow…
